Are you football or muggy bonehead?

England's newly appointed manager Roy Hodgson has been slated by the press and public for his Euro 12 squad selection, even though he has yet to select a squad. Certain that Hodgson's picks for this summer's tournament will be disastrous, pundits and fans have united in decrying Hodgson's personnel decision before he's made them.

"It's a shambles," said pundit Quintin Taylor. "He's already ruined England's chances. He's going to waste a roster spot on Wayne Rooney even though he's got the two-match ban. Or he's going to leave him out when we're certain to need him in that final group match. Both are terrible decisions. Then he'll take John Terry and alienate Rio Ferdinand. Or he'll leave John Terry out and ruin our backline. Hodgson is clearly out of his depth."

Hodgson was put in the England hot seat instead of press-favorite Harry Redknapp, which has made the start of his tenure even more difficult.

The Sun, meanwhile, published a scathing review of Hodgson's yet to be decided roster. "We haven't seen the England squad, but the selections could not have been worse," said the country's most-read newspaper. "Harry Redknapp would have assembled a very similar yet far superior team. He also would have cured glaucoma, whereas Hodgson has probably given everyone bird flu with this roster. The streets will run red with the blood of the nation's turtles."

Despite the dramatic criticism of Hodgson's selections, all hope is not lost. Concluded Taylor: "Hodgson has already turned this into a complete disaster and he can never be forgiven. I still think England will win it, though. This is definitely our year."

I'll be watching Tottenham - Fulham tomorrow and Bayern hopefully beating the shit out of Chelsea next week.

flipflop wrote:It will only shake up who's Big Four and who isn't. The richest clubs in each country consistently win everything, and City are richer than anyone. Modern football is rubbish.

Also saw in comments on a post elsewhere about how the Bundesliga is more equal in terms of team spending power though haven't done any research to see how true this is. All those "rich" teams are pretty deeply in debt for the most part aren't they? At least Barca just wears non-profits on its jerseys (for now).

"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies

vagabond wrote:I'll be watching Tottenham - Fulham tomorrow and Bayern hopefully beating the shit out of Chelsea next week.

flipflop wrote:It will only shake up who's Big Four and who isn't. The richest clubs in each country consistently win everything, and City are richer than anyone. Modern football is rubbish.

Also saw in comments on a post elsewhere about how the Bundesliga is more equal in terms of team spending power though haven't done any research to see how true this is. All those "rich" teams are pretty deeply in debt for the most part aren't they? At least Barca just wears non-profits on its jerseys (for now).

vagabond wrote:I'll be watching Tottenham - Fulham tomorrow and Bayern hopefully beating the shit out of Chelsea next week.

flipflop wrote:It will only shake up who's Big Four and who isn't. The richest clubs in each country consistently win everything, and City are richer than anyone. Modern football is rubbish.

Also saw in comments on a post elsewhere about how the Bundesliga is more equal in terms of team spending power though haven't done any research to see how true this is. All those "rich" teams are pretty deeply in debt for the most part aren't they? At least Barca just wears non-profits on its jerseys (for now).

Not anymore

It's a non-profit in Qatar and they had UNICEF before that. Even if it's a Qatari gov't sponsored org it's still might be a bit better than Russian oligarchs, Arab sheikhs, or Indian chicken farmers.

"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies

vagabond wrote:I'll be watching Tottenham - Fulham tomorrow and Bayern hopefully beating the shit out of Chelsea next week.

I will be at a bar showing every single fucking game, getting my ADD on.

+1 for NYC on that...LA has shit-all for places to watch, esp. w/ NBA/NHL crap going on. Luckily I found FoxSoccer2Go which has HD streaming. It's even had the side effect of me watching an Aussie Rules football game or two (as it shows Rugby and Aussie Rules as well).

"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies

vagabond wrote:I'll be watching Tottenham - Fulham tomorrow and Bayern hopefully beating the shit out of Chelsea next week.

I will be at a bar showing every single fucking game, getting my ADD on.

+1 for NYC on that...LA has shit-all for places to watch, esp. w/ NBA/NHL crap going on. Luckily I found FoxSoccer2Go which has HD streaming. It's even had the side effect of me watching an Aussie Rules football game or two (as it shows Rugby and Aussie Rules as well).

I'm surprised there isn't at least one good footy bar in El Ay. Every big city has enough expats to support one, and most of the games kick off before the NBA, NHL & MLB do, so there is hardly any conflict. Especially not in the Pacific time zone. I can understand why most bars can't be arsed to open in time for a 7 AM kickoff, but there's gotta be enough of a supply of fans to support at least one.

A few weeks ago, Legends opened at 7:30 AM Eastern time for a League One match for fuck's sake. That's fucking dedication for you.

shivers wrote:I'm surprised there isn't at least one good footy bar in El Ay. Every big city has enough expats to support one, and most of the games kick off before the NBA, NHL & MLB do, so there is hardly any conflict. Especially not in the Pacific time zone. I can understand why most bars can't be arsed to open in time for a 7 AM kickoff, but there's gotta be enough of a supply of fans to support at least one.

A few weeks ago, Legends opened at 7:30 AM Eastern time for a League One match for fuck's sake. That's fucking dedication for you.

There's a few "English" / "Irish" pubs scattered around that you can find some of that expat crowd at but isn't the situation that you're describing w/ a game on every television. Now, there was a place down the road from me that had the last World Cup on a massive projection screen but that's a much larger (and profitable) event than the end of the EPL season. They weren't even open during Champions League games. There's also a Brazilian restaurant that shows matches on the tiniest tv possible.

It'd be good if there were a solid Italian place w/ tvs and beers like I had when living in NC. When the World Cup was in Germany we got seated by 8am, had the first pitcher by the time the game started at 9, and continued throughout the day. And did that the whole tournament. I didn't attend the final there though since I loathe the Italian team (Portuguese being a close second).

Anyway, should be a fun Sunday and looking forward to seeing how it shakes out.

"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies

The Greeks love to get their football on too. I ended up watching a bunch of the WC games over coffee at one the Greek cafes in my neighborhood. 7:30 in the morning is just too early for me to get drunk. Even a diner is a good place to watch. Just not on Survival Sunday if you wanna go nuts and watch more than one game.

shivers wrote:The Greeks love to get their football on too. I ended up watching a bunch of the WC games over coffee at one the Greek cafes in my neighborhood. 7:30 in the morning is just too early for me to get drunk. Even a diner is a good place to watch. Just not on Survival Sunday if you wanna go nuts and watch more than one game.

True. And basketball.

shivers wrote:A pub not even open for lunch? What a shit town LA is.

Just this one. And it's not a pub, it's a typical sports bar except for in LA the only sports that count are Lakers games and Dodgers games. And MMA fights. Not sure which of the three brings out the the douchiest fans (probably Lakers).

Anyway, to swing it back around, in light of Man City possibly getting the title, here's an interesting story of a former player (still alive) I read about last night. Definitely football:

Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE (born 22 October 1923) is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper. He fought on the Eastern Front for three years, earning five medals including an Iron Cross. Later in the war he was transferred to the Western Front, where he was captured by the British as the war drew to a close. One of only 90 of his original 1,000-man regiment to survive the war, he was transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. Trautmann refused an offer of repatriation, and following his release in 1948 he settled in Lancashire, combining farm work with playing as goalkeeper for local football team St Helens Town.

Performances for St Helens gained Trautmann a reputation as an able goalkeeper, resulting in interest from Football League clubs. In October 1949 he signed for Manchester City, a club playing in the highest level of football in the country, the First Division. The club's decision to sign a former Axis paratrooper sparked protests, with 20,000 people attending a demonstration. Over time he gained acceptance through his performances in the City goal, playing all but five of the club's next 250 matches.

Named FWA Footballer of the Year for 1956, Trautmann entered football folklore with his performance in the 1956 FA (Football Association) Cup Final. With 17 minutes of the match remaining Trautmann suffered a serious injury after diving at the feet of Birmingham City's Peter Murphy. Despite his injury he continued to play, making crucial saves to preserve his team's 3–1 lead. His neck was noticeably crooked as he collected his winner's medal; three days later an X-ray revealed it to be broken.

Trautmann continued to play for Manchester City until 1964, making 545 appearances. After ending his playing career he moved into management, first with lower-division sides in England and Germany, and later as part of a German Football Association development scheme that took him to several countries including Burma, Tanzania and Pakistan. In 2004 he was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for promoting Anglo-German understanding through football.

No-one of course will believe me here, but I like watching the female game. They have to get in closer to goal before shotting etc, due to not being as physical as the men, so their game is very fluid. Also, The Long Ball, the mainstay of the British men's game for so long, doesn't go as far, so they have to get it down and play it short. That's how the Beautiful Game should be played - pass and move, play it out from the back.

The skill sets are indentical in both games, but the men's game is stronger and faster, so it's still the one everyone watches.

Cheers

Patriots always talk of dying for their country, and never of killing for their country - Bertrand Russell

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